What Little I Can Do

During Bring Your Champion to Work Day

Pelor: This is Vex’ahlia. She and her friends came to my domain looking for my blessing to aid in the defeat of Vecna. I put her through trial to prove she was worthy, which she did.

Raven Queen: This is Vax’ildan. He offered his life for his sister’s during her resurrection in the tomb of my previous champion, and I agreed.

Luxon: A set!   :D 

Pelor: Yes. And, uh…yours?

Luxon: Oh. this is Essek!

Essek: *desperately trying to claw his way out of the Luxon’s grasp like a kitten that DOES NOT want to be picked up*

Luxon: I just thought he was neat.  :)

Caleb and Essek discuss children, of all things.

--

"Aren't you worried?" Caleb asks softly, his voice full of concern as he holds Essek's hand in his own. "About outliving them?"

It wasn't a topic either of them had brought up: instead, Beau and Yasha has approached them about it, offering to be surrogates should they desire a child of their own. A very sweet offering, but one that prompted a discussion.

Outliving your child was among the worst things most parents could think of.

And yet.

"It is a concern, yes," Essek confesses, giving Caleb's hand a gentle squeeze. "I will not pretend it is not. But...I am a drow. I will likely live for centuries more, unless my own foolishness catches up to me. And you won't be there, because you are human, and if we were to have a child, they would also be a human, or perhaps a half-elf," he presses the gentlest of kisses against Caleb's temple. "And I would outlive them as well, and it would be hard. I'm not pretending it wouldn't be."

He pauses for a moment, taking the time to brush a stray ginger lock back behind Caleb's ear before he resumes speaking. "But if I am lucky, I will live to see our child marry, and have children of their own. And their children will perhaps have children. And five or six centuries from now, we may have great-great-great grandchildren, and one might have your hair, or your eyes, or your nose," he kisses the nose in question. "And it would remind me of you, long after you are gone. I could think of no greater gift you could leave to me than that."

There are tears welling up in Caleb's eyes, but neither of them acknowledge it. "Ja, okay," Caleb nods, and kissed his husband. "Let's have a baby. Let's leave a legacy."

YES ! That was amazing op !!! 

Hi fellow shadowgast lover ! I need your take on this : what if ann older, distinguished and grizzled Essek (like, around 500 years old or something) was sent back in time against his will / to stop some nefarious threat, and met a young Caleb ? Obviously he wouldn't want to alter the timeline, but the temptation to protect his beloved from all the pain he will go through ? The drama ? What would be Caleb's reaction to meeting a powerful Kryn wizard ? Critical Role fandom, I need your wisdom.

I was going to have a cohesive response but my brain IMMEDIATELY went on “Essek gets back to the time Caleb was in the Sanatorium, disguises himself and he’s actually the one that breaks him free of the Feeblemind” (I know it’s not confirmed but I’ve always thought that the whole sanatorium business was Caleb being Feebleminded - it’s basically impossible breaking free of a Feeblemind after it takes hold without some sort of external help)and I’m… I’m having feelings about Essek seeing Caleb again after centuries but not being able to do anything about it I’m–Maybe he protected him, from a distance, in the years before Caleb met Nott. Essek is determined and focused enough to know he cannot afford to mess up the timeline, but watching over him isn’t that, right?

I cannot stop thinking about @foxqueen-katarian ‘s amazing AU, where Essek is the Luxon’s champion, who somehow got a physical child-like body and keeps following him around like a little duckling.

I guess they just floats around, shining like a cosmic diamond, and live their best life (?)

You can find more about it in this thread : 

https://anne-o-nyme.tumblr.com/post/663251925576368128/part-of-me-is-in-love-with-the-idea-of-essek

yes. YES.

300 years in the future and Essek has met and decided to watch over a group of young adventurers. Said group is hired to takedown a cult of ritualistic cannibals.

Young Adventurer 1: "Okay, everyone knows the plan right? Eating people is so messed up we have to stop these monsters as soon as possible."

Essek: "Agreed, and they are so uncouth in their methods. To eat right off the bone, have they no manners?"

Young Adventurer 2: "Manners? I don't think that's the issue to be focusing on."

Young Adventurer 1: "...Wait...Have...Have you eaten someone before?"

Essek: "My goodness NO! I have not EATEN anyone... I may have-ᵈʳᵃⁿᵏ ᵃ ᶠᵉʷ."

Young Adventurer 3: "DRANK??! ARE YOU VAMPIRE?!!?"

Essek: "NO! It wasnt like that, one of my family would make this tea that- LOOK it was this whole thing with tea and naked hot tubs and weasels-"

Young Adventurer 2: "Is this a setup?? Are you PART of this cult we're about to walk in on??"

Essek: "NO-!

Young Adventurer 1: "Are you sure because what you just described sounds like weird cult ritual shit."

Essek: *holds up a blue pouch with an embrodered dick and cupcake on it*

"Well if you are going to be RUDE then you will not be allowed to drink my sister tonight!"

Young Adventurer 3: "Dude WHAT?!"

bonus : close up 

Just finished ep 3 of Exandria Unlimited : Calamity. I have Many Feelings, so I drew this last night. Sorry for the poor quality.

Essek is the Luxon’s champion AU is from the amazing @foxqueen-katarian ! 

related to this post, where the Mighty Nein organise Essek’s fake funerals 

https://anne-o-nyme.tumblr.com/post/659298258508726272/anne-o-nyme-i-dont-know-if-anyone-else-had

The Funeral

Essek’s death had to be believable. It was paramount to his ability to remain connected to the Mighty Nein (even if disguises would be necessary) for he did not wish to put them in continued danger with his presence but they were at risk as long as the Dynasty’s gaze remained fixed on hunting him down. So it was that the Mighty Nein were soon happily planning a great scheme of theatrics, sending messages back and forth, and ultimately coming together in the Blooming Grove for a family meeting on the matter. Kingsley had stalwartly refused to support the usurping of his position as “handsome, ‘you should be dead’ purple man” of the group so he remained upon the Nein Heroez, getting further acquainted with crew. Jester was drawing out plans while the others offered their contributions.  

“Should we throw him a funeral too?” Yasha asked.

Veth immediately interjected, excited to stir the pot, “Oh I see, so when you thought all of us might be dead, you couldn’t be bothered, but when Essek dies you’re happy to throw a funeral. I get it. I see where we all stand.”

Yasha’s brows knit together in confusion.

“No Veth… I mean you were the one who taught me funerals were important… I thought.”

Veth immediately softened at the gentle giant’s sincerity and placed an arm on her forearm.

“Okay. As long as you’ve learned your lesson.” she said softly to assure Yasha she was not mad but still stalwartly refusing to give up the bit. The rest of the Mighty Nein were holding back laughter.

“You know it’s not a bad idea,” Fjord added “it would make it more believable if we’re seen to be, like, visibly grieving. Do the Kryn have funerals, Essek?” Essek snapped to attention, upon hearing his name. He had been rather distracted admiring the way the breeze was blowing through Caleb’s long, ginger hair. It felt oddly intimate to see someone with their hair flowing free for the wind to play with, no styling whatsoever, but then, Essek supposed that was simply a marker of his upbringing in a culture where no one would ever be willing to appear disheveled in the slightest. He attempted to recall what had been said but it was no use.

“My apologies, what was that?”

Beau rolled her eyes.

“Oh god. He’s absolutely useless lately. Hey! Lovesick weirdo! We are trying to make a plan to save your life so you might want to tune in.” Beau knocked on his head as if checking to make sure it wasn’t hollow. Essek, though his expressive ears seemed to pull back in embarrassment, turned to her with the blankest of expressions, practiced from many years of maintaining composure for the sole purpose of annoying a younger sibling.

“I apologize, I was busy theorizing about what may have happened in the dynasty during my absence and while attempting to unravel the incredibly complex web of political intricacies, I happened to miss what was said.” his scathing tone didn’t have the slightest effect on Beau.

“Yo guys, new nickname for Caleb: political intricacies.”

The Mighty Nein exploded into laughter, chortling at the quip.

Read More on Ao3

The poor kid would suffer so much during summer vacations at auntie Jester and uncle Fjord’s house in Nicodranas-

but listen: shadowgast children, with a drow and a ginger for parents, that’s going to require levels of SPF magic the world has not seen before

So I’ve just seen Goncharov

And it was amazing, a true masterpiece. I’ve been looking at all the lovely meta people have posted on tumblr, and while some people have noted the fish metaphors, I’ve yet to find any detailed explanations for these. 

Here I come, folks.

Across the movie we can select 3 important moments where fishes have a specific meaning, and all of them are associated with Katya : 

the anchovies scene

that moment when Katya feed the goldfishes in Goncharov’s study

the scene when Goncharov is looking for his watch in the study, and where the fishbowl is pushed around

But what do they mean ?? Well, let me reframe the question : what kind of fishes are we really looking at ? 

In the anchovies’ case, it’s all about food, how you consume it, and with whom. Anchovies were at first, like many overhyped delicacies, poor people’s food. Too small to be of use for noble families, and filled up with tiny bones (truly a pain in the ass to remove) : only the common people used to catch and eat them (mostly fermented, to add some proteins to simple meals). 

Now, what does it tell us about our main characters ? Well, in that scene, Gonchariv and Katya (as mentioned by him) are pro anchovies. They are, like these small fishes, low born people full of sharp edges, and now seen as symbols of a new luxurious life-style. 

In the fishbowl’s case, you’ll surely tell me “you dumbass it’s the goldfish scene, she’s feeding goldfishes ! Who cares ?” well my friend, it is you who’s a dumb of ass. If you had looked at them closely, you would have realized 2 things : 

1. there are indeed two goldfishes in the first scene ;

2. the fishes in the second one have actually been replaced by Siamese fighting fish ;

For those who don’t know much about fishes, let me tell you a couple of things : goldfishes are not supposed to be kept in a small bowl, it’s very detrimental for their health to be kept in such a dire environment ! Wild goldfishes are actually quite big and have a lifespan averaging about 10-15 years !! Some can reach 30 years !! 

What does it tell us about Katya ? Simple : like the fish, she’s kept in a toxic environment designed to utterly destroy her, and where she’s expected to be a pretty commodity to look at.

“Wait ! What about the fighting fish ?” you’ll undoubtedly recall. Indeed my friend, indeed…these fishes are very well named, since it’s quite common to witness siamese fish fighting each other.  Actually, if you ever want to keep a couple of these beauties at home, it’s advised to keep them in separate tanks, to avoid any fights.

What’s told to us here, with this simple fish swapping, is that Katya went from being a cute dying goldfish, kept small by the world around her, to a feisty and dangerous warrior, ready to take down her own mate to control the pond.